House bill would limit tax appeals

Friday

May 19, 2017 at 9:28 PMMay 19, 2017 at 9:28 PM

Bill Cameron

House Bill 1213 is up for second consideration next week, and it has some school districts in Monroe County seriously concerned.

The proposed law would change how much tax some Pennsylvania property owners pay and how often that amount can be decided. It could also cut millions of dollars from taxing districts like schools, counties, townships and libraries.

East Stroudsburg Area School District is one that might see a significant drop, said Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Bader. If the bill becomes law, it’s likely to eliminate some of the $7.5 million in assessed property value added over the last year.

“It could have a devastating impact on the district,” he said. “Anything that reduces tax values puts more pressure on schools to raise taxes because it’s not being made up by revenue from the state.”

The school district hired Keystone Reality Advisors to identify out-of-date or potentially inaccurate property assessments. Those deemed questionable were then privately appraised and appealed.

Many property owners settled for a higher final value, Bader said. Some came to agreement after hiring their own appraisals and finding similar results.

“It’s not because of new buildings or construction,” said Bader. “It’s the fact that these property assessments are well below what they should be. Doing this, the district is able to raise more tax revenue without raise millage rates.”

House Bill 1213 would limit taxing districts from appealing assessments unless certain conditions are met. Districts could no longer challenge the value of a property when its owners sell or refinance. Property improvements for safety, fair housing or disability laws would also disqualify an appeal.

State Representatives Rosemary Brown (R-189) and Maureen Madden (D-115) serve the Monroe County portion of East Stroudsburg school district. Brown could not be reached for comment at the time of this story.

Madden was also unavailable, but her Chief of Staff Cooper Nordquist said the bill aims to help property holders who are currently disadvantaged.

“It’s unfair for new homeowners,” he said. “If you get spot appealed, you have very little recourse.”

The proposed bill does allow districts to appeal in certain cases, like when a property changes use. Nordquist could not comment on how use is defined in the bill’s current language, he said.

If passed, the bill would roll back any district appeals made since the last county-wide assessment that don’t meet the new criteria. Those taxpayers affected would not receive a refund, but their assessment would revert to the former value.

Monroe County is currently in the midst of a county-wide reassessment, the first in 25 years. Tyler Technologies, the company appraising properties, is expected to file its findings in January 2018 to take effect for the next tax year.

Any assessment decrease from the bill should level out once the current county-wide reassessment takes hold, assuming properties are accurately appraised by all parties.

“The school district is going to lose some at first, but it shouldn’t lose out in the long run,” said Nordquist. “If their assessment is correct and the county-wide one is correct, then they would have just gotten that same money sooner.”

Costs can deter taxing districts from undertaking frequent, large-scale reassessments. The initial expense proves prohibitive for some despite the potential gains, Norquist said. Counties across the state vary in their update intervals as a result.

Prolonging reassessment can have its own consequence, though.

“Nobody wants to pay for them, but it hurts people in the long run,” said Nordquist. “Some people are about to see their millage skyrocket because an assessment hasn’t been done for a quarter of a century.”

State lawmakers will mull the bill on Monday, when the house plans to put the bill to vote. It so far has sponsorship from 12 members including Rep. Warren Kampf (R-147), who introduced the bill.

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